Christopher Wendt: It is the thirteenth of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Fatima. Good evening, Your Excellency.
His Excellency: Good evening.
Christopher Wendt: Tonight’s broadcast is a catechism lesson. It is the second part of the Holy Eucharist. It looks like we will probably have about four parts, because there is so much richness in what we believe as Catholics about the Holy Eucharist.
Your Excellency, could you start us off with a prayer?
His Excellency: In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen
Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen
His Excellency: So, we will continue today with the second part of our catechesis on the Holy Eucharist. Today, we will examine the three mysteries contained within the mystery of the Eucharist. The Catholic Church firmly believes and professes that in this sacrament, the words of consecration accomplish three wondrous and admirable effects.
The first effect of the consecration is that the true Body of Christ the Lord, the same that was born of the Virgin Mary and is now seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, is contained in this sacrament.
The second effect, however prominent it may appear to our senses, is that none of the substance of the elements of bread and wine remains in the sacrament.
The third effect, which may be deduced from the two preceding, although the words of consecration themselves clearly express it, is that the accidents which present themselves to the eyes or other senses exist in a wonderful and ineffable manner without their own subject.
All the accidents of bread and wine remain visible, but they inhere in no substance and exist independently of any substance. For the substance of the bread and wine is so changed into the Body and Blood of our Lord that they altogether cease to be the substance of bread and wine.
Let us now look at the first aspect, the consequence of the consecration. This is the mystery of the Real Presence.
When our Lord says, “This is my Body” and “This is my Blood,” no person of sound mind can mistake His meaning, particularly since there is reference to Christ’s human nature, the reality of which the Catholic faith permits no one to doubt.
The admirable words of Saint Hilary of Poitiers, a Church Father from the early centuries, can be quoted here. He said:
“When our Lord Himself declares, as our faith teaches us, that His flesh is truly food, what room can remain for doubt concerning the real presence of His Body and of His Blood?”
The Apostle Saint Paul, after having recorded the consecration of the bread and wine by our Lord, and also the administration of Communion to the Apostles, adds: “But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of the chalice. For he that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Body of the Lord.”
If, as some theorists continually repeat, the sacrament presents nothing to our veneration but a memorial only, or a sign of the Passion of Christ, why was there a need for Saint Paul to exhort the faithful in such energetic language to prove themselves before receiving the Body of Christ?
By the terrible word “judgment,” the Apostle Paul shows how enormous the guilt is of those who receive unworthily and do not distinguish from common food the Body of our Lord, which is concealed in the Eucharist.
In the same letter to the Corinthians, the First Letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul had already developed this doctrine more fully when he said: “The chalice of benediction which we bless, is it not the communion of the Blood of Christ? And the bread which we break, is it not the participation of the Body of the Lord?”
Now, these words signify the real substance of the Body and Blood of Christ.
Saint Ambrose, another great Church Father from the fourth century, in his book On the Mysteries, says that the true Body of Christ is received in the sacrament, just as the true Body of Christ was derived from the Holy Virgin Mary.
And that these truths are to be believed is the firm certainty of faith.
In another place, Saint Ambrose teaches: “Before consecration, it is only bread; but after consecration, there is only the flesh, the Body and Blood of Christ.”
Saint John Chrysostom, who is called the Eucharistic Doctor, said in his homily on those who receive the sacred mysteries unworthily: “Let us obey and not contradict God. Although what God says may seem contrary to our reason and our sight, His words cannot deceive. Our senses are easily deceived.”
And Saint Augustine said: “To carry Himself in His own hands is impossible to man, and this is peculiar only to Christ.” Christ carried Himself in His own hands when He spoke the words after consecration during the Last Supper.
According to the author of the writing called The Sacramentary, Theodoret of Cyrus, who was a theologian of the late fifth century, affirmed this as well.
The Church is a midway point between the synagogue of the Old Testament and the Heavenly Jerusalem. Consequently, it participates in the nature of both, sharing in common with the inhabitants of heaven. We, too, possess Christ, God and man present with us. They are raised above us, as they are present with Christ and enjoy the beatific vision. We, here on Earth, with firm and unwavering faith, adore the divine majesty present with us in the sacrament. Thus, in a manner visible to the mortal eye, but hidden by the miraculous divine power, under the veil of the sacred mystery of the Eucharist.
Furthermore, the faithful experience in the sacrament the most perfect love of Christ our Savior. It became the goodness of the Savior not to withdraw from us that nature which He assumed, but to desire, as far as possible, to remain among us. So, at all times, He might be seen to verify the words, “My delight is to be with the children of man.”
Let us now look at the meaning of the Real Presence. Christ, the whole and entire Christ, is present in the Eucharist. The word “Christ” designates the God-man, that is to say, one person in whom the divine and human natures are united. Therefore, the Holy Eucharist contains both the divinity and the humanity of Christ, whole and entire. This includes the soul, all parts of the body, and the blood, everything must be believed to be present in the sacrament.
In Heaven, the whole humanity of Christ is united to the Divinity in one Hypostasis, or person. Hence, it would be erroneous to suppose that the body of Christ, which is contained in the sacrament, is separated from His divinity. The presence of Christ in the Eucharist is, therefore, by virtue of the sacrament.
The words of the sacrament, “This is my body,” which comprise the form used to consecrate the bread, signify the body of the Lord. Thus, the body of Christ, the Lord, is contained in the Eucharist by virtue of the sacrament. Since, however, Christ’s body is united with His blood, His soul, and His divinity, all are present in the sacrament.
All of these must also be found to coexist in the sacrament, not by virtue of the words of consecration, but by virtue of the union that subsists between them and Christ’s body. These elements are said to be in the Eucharist by virtue of concomitance. Hence, it is clear that Christ, whole and entire, is contained in the sacrament. For when two things are actually united, where one is, the other must also be. Christ, whole and entire, is present under each species.
Thus, it also follows that Christ is so fully contained, whole and entire, under either species, whether under the species of bread or wine, that the bread contains not only the body but also the blood and Christ in His entirety. Similarly, under the species of wine, not only the blood but also the body and Christ in His entirety are truly contained.
It was wisely ordained that two distinct consecrations should take place. First, because they represent more vividly the Passion of Our Lord, in which His blood was separated from His body. Thus, in the form of consecration, we commemorate the shedding of His blood. Secondly, since the sacrament is to be used by us as food and nourishment for our souls, it was most appropriate that it be instituted as both food and drink, two things which obviously constitute the complete sustenance of the human body.
Let us now look at the mystery of transubstantiation. If, after consecration, the true Body of Christ is present under the species of bread and wine, since it was not there before, it must have become present either by a change of place, by a new creation, or by the change of some other thing into it. It cannot be rendered present by a change of place, because then the body of Christ would cease to be in heaven. For whatever is moved must necessarily cease to occupy the place from which it is moved. Still less can we suppose that the body of Christ is rendered present by a new divine creation. Therefore, in order for the body of our Lord to be present in the sacrament, it must be rendered present by the change of the bread into it.
In the Council of Trent, these truths were defined as a dogma of faith in these words: “If anyone shall say that, in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, the substance of the bread and wine remains, together with the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema.”
The doctrine thus defined by the Church is a natural inference from the words of Holy Scripture. When instituting the sacrament, our Lord Himself said, “This is my body.” The word “this” expresses the entire substance of the thing present. Therefore, if the substance of the bread remained, our Lord could not have truly said, “This is my body.” In St. John, Christ the Lord also says, “The bread that I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world.” The bread which He promises to give, He here declares to be His flesh. A little later, He adds in the same Gospel of John, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you shall not have life in you.” And again, “My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.” Since, therefore, in terms so clear and explicit, Christ calls His flesh bread and meat indeed, and His blood drink indeed, He gives us sufficient understanding that none of the substance of the bread and wine remains in this sacrament.
St. Ambrose says, “You will say, perhaps, this bread is no other than what is used for common food. True. Before consecration, it is bread. But no sooner are the words of consecration pronounced than, from bread, it becomes the flesh of Christ.” To prove this position more clearly, St. Ambrose elucidates it by a variety of comparisons and examples. In another place, when explaining these words of the psalmist, “Whatsoever the Lord pleased He has done in heaven and earth,” St. Ambrose says, “Although the species of bread and wine are visible, yet we must believe that after consecration, the body and blood of Christ are alone there.” Explaining the same doctrine, St. Hilary of Poitiers says, “Although externally it appears as bread and wine, yet in reality it is the body and blood of the Lord.”
If even after consecration the Eucharist is sometimes called bread, it is so called first because it retains the appearance of bread, and secondly because it keeps the natural quality of bread, which is to support and nourish the body. Moreover, such phraseology is in imperfect accordance with the usage of Holy Scripture, which calls things by what they appear to be.
As may be seen from the words of Genesis, which say that Abraham saw three men, when in reality he saw three angels. In like manner, the two angels who appeared to the apostles after the ascension of Christ into heaven are called not angels, but men.
Let us look at the meaning of Transubstantiation. It is a total conversion. This means that this conversion is so complete that the whole substance of the bread is changed by the power of God into the whole substance of the Body of Christ, and the whole substance of the wine into the whole substance of His Blood. This happens without any change in our Lord Himself. He is neither begotten nor changed; He is not increased, but He remains entire in His substance.
This blind mystery, as Ambrose thus declares, shows how efficacious the words of Christ are. If the word of the Lord Jesus is so powerful as to summon into existence that which did not exist, namely the world, how much more powerful is His word to change into something else that which already has existence? St. Augustine faithfully confesses that before consecration, it is bread and wine, the product of nature; but after consecration, it is the body and blood of Christ, consecrated by the blessing. The body, says John Damascene, is truly united to the divinity of Christ, that body which was derived from the Virgin Mary. Not that the body derives its substance again from heaven, but that the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ.
This admirable change, as the Council of Trent teaches us, is most appropriately expressed by the word Transubstantiation, since natural changes are rightly called transformations because they involve a change of form. Likewise, in the faith, the term Transubstantiation is appropriately introduced in Catholic doctrine to signify that, in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the whole substance of one thing passes into the whole substance of another. We are to be admonished against curious searching into the manner in which this change is effected. It defies the powers of human conception and thinking, nor can we find any example of it in natural transmutations or even in the very work of creation. It is unique, and such a change must be recognized by faith. How it takes place, we must not curiously inquire.
Let us now look at the consequences of Transubstantiation. Our Lord is not in the sacrament as in a place, since place regards things only inasmuch as they have corporeal extension. Therefore, we do not say that Christ is in the sacrament inasmuch as He is great or small, terms that belong to quantity, but inasmuch as He is substance. The substance of the bread is changed into the substance of Christ’s body, not into magnitude or quantity. Substance, it will be acknowledged, can be contained both in a small as well as in a large place. The substance of air, for instance, and its entire nature must be present under a small as well as a large quantity of air.
And likewise, the entire nature of water must be present in a glass as much as in a river. Since the body of our Lord succeeds to the substance of the bread, we must confess it to be the sacrament in the same manner as the substance of the bread was before consecration. Whether the substance of the bread was present in a greater or lesser quantity is a matter of complete indifference.
Let us now look at the next aspect: the accidents that remain, but without a subject. This is the great and wondrous effect of this sacrament: the existence of the species of bread and wine without a subject. Since it is most revolting to human nature to eat human flesh or drink human blood, God, in His infinite wisdom, has established the administration of the body and blood of Christ under the form of bread and wine, which are the ordinary and agreeable sustenance for man.
There are two further advantages: First, it prevents the calumnious reproaches of the unbelievers, which the eating of our Lord under His visible form could not easily escape. Second, receiving Him under a form impervious to the senses avails much for increasing our faith, for faith has no merit in things that fall under the proof of reason.
The effects of the Eucharist are the fruit of our souls. It is truly necessary to be called the fountain of all graces. Containing as it does, in an admirable manner, the fountain and source itself of celestial gifts and graces, it is the author of all the sacraments. Christ is the source from which all goodness and perfection in the other sacraments are derived. Just as bread and wine are to the body, the Eucharist is to the health and delight of the soul.
But in a higher and better way, this sacrament is not like bread and wine merged into our substance. Rather, we are, in some ways, changed into its nature. We may well apply here the words of St. Augustine: “The Lord says, ‘I am the food of the strong; grow and thou shalt eat me, nor shall thou change me into thee, as the bodily food, but thou shalt be changed into me.'”
So the Eucharist gives us graces. If grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, they must surely be poured into the soul that receives it with purity and holiness. Christ Himself said, “He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in Me, and I in him.” Those who receive the sacrament piously and fervently must, beyond all doubt, receive the Son of God into their souls, being engrafted as living members of His Body. For it is written, “He that eats me, the same shall live by me. The bread which I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
Explaining this passage, St. Cyril says:
“The virtue of God, uniting Himself to His own flesh, imparted to it vivifying power. It became Him, therefore, to unite Himself to our bodies in a wonderful manner through His sacred flesh and precious blood, which are truly saved in the bread and wine consecrated by His vivifying benedictions.”
As natural food can be of no use to a dead person, so, in a like manner, the sacred mysteries of the Eucharist can evidently be of no avail to a soul that does not live by the Spirit, which lives in mortal sin. Hence, the sacrament has been instituted under the forms of bread and wine to signify that the object of its institution is not merely to recall the soul to life, but to preserve its life.
Just as the body is not only supported but also increased by natural food, from which the taste derives new relish and pleasure every day, so also is the soul not only sustained but invigorated by feasting on the food of the Eucharist, which gifts the spirit with an increasing desire for heavenly things. It may be justly compared to the manner in which natural food contains the sweetness of every taste. It cannot be doubted that, through the Eucharist, venial sins, those commonly called lighter sins, are remitted and pardoned. Whatever the soul has lost through the fire of passion or by falling into some slight offense, the Eucharist cancels, just as natural food gradually restores and repairs the daily waste caused by the force of vital heat within us.
St. Ambrose speaks of this sacrament as the daily bread, taken as a remedy for daily infirmity. This refers to those sins for which no actual affection is retained.
Furthermore, there is such a power in the Eucharist as to preserve us pure and unspotted from sin, keeping us safe from the assaults of temptation. Through this heavenly medicine, it prepares the soul against the easy approach and infection of violent and deadly diseases. Hence, the ancient practice of the Church was that when the faithful were harried in multitudes by tyrants, persecuted for confessing the name of Christ, they were given the sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Lord. This was done so that, perhaps overcome by the severity of their sufferings, they would not fail in the fight for salvation.
The Eucharist also restrains and represses the lust of the flesh. While it inflames the soul more ardently with the fire of charity, it often extinguishes the ardor of concupiscence.
The Eucharist and Eternal Life: We conclude our Catechism today with this profound truth. It is written, “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has everlasting life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” This means that by the grace of the sacrament, men experience the greatest peace and tranquility of conscience in this present life. And when the hour of departure from this world arrives, like Elias, who was strengthened by the bread baked on the hearth, they will walk to the mount of God, invigorated by the heavenly food of the Eucharist. With this nourishment, they will ascend to unfading glory and eternal bliss.
Christopher Wendt: Thank you, Your Excellency, just one question. Are we to believe it is teaching of the teaching of the church that our Lord remains in our bodies for 15 minutes after Holy Mass? Because of the appearance, we presume it is approximately 15 minutes. Is it? Is it a teaching of the Church? Or is it just a kind of official tradition?
His Excellency: Yes, it is a teaching of the Church saying that when the accidents of bread and wine are disappearing, or dissolving, the presence of Christ is also no more there. Because the Eucharistic presence of Christ is, depending on the accidents, because it’s a sacrament, is a sacramental presence. And a sacrament is a visible sign. So when the visible sign is no more, there is no more sacrament. This is a reason.
Christopher Wendt: Great, thank you for that. I had some people ask about that before. And I’m just convinced that makes her the Thanksgiving we should make after the Holy Mass. So much more important. It’s important.
His Excellency: So, usually, according to the natural laws, the substance of bread dissolves, after 10 or 15 minutes, more or less. And so since then, we have the sacramental presence of the Lord in our body, we are kind of tabernacle living. It’s a great honor for us in the privilege. But after the Lord is, is continues to be present, but not sacramentally. But spiritually, you know, so we can carry him from one community to the other in our sole spiritual presence of God.
Christopher Wendt: I like how you said that from one community to another, that’s beautiful. It’s beautiful. Thank you, Your Excellency, for this catechesis, part two. Could you close us in our prayer?
His Excellency: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen,
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, holy Mother of God and our tender Mother, look upon the distress in which the whole of mankind is living, due to the spread of materialism, godlessness, and the persecution of the Catholic Faith.
In our own day, the Mystical Body of Christ is bleeding from so many wounds, caused within the Church by the unpunished spread of heresies, the justification of sins against the Sixth Commandment, and the seeking of the kingdom of earth rather than the Kingdom of Heaven.
There are horrendous sacrileges against the Most Holy Eucharist, especially through the practice of Communion in the hand, and the Protestant shaping of the celebration of the Holy Mass.
Amidst these trials appeared the light of the consecration of Russia to thy Immaculate Heart by the Pope, in union with the world’s bishops.
In Fatima, thou didst request the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays of the month. Implore Thy Divine Son to grant a special grace to the Pope, that he may approve and promote the practice of the First Saturday Communion of Reparation.
May Almighty God hasten the time when Russia will be converted to Catholic unity, mankind will be granted a time of peace, and the Church will be renewed in the purity of the Catholic Faith, the sacredness of divine worship, and the holiness of Christian life.
O Mediatrix of all graces, O Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, and our sweet Mother, turn thine eyes of mercy towards us, and graciously hear this, our trusting prayer. Amen.
Dominus vobiscum.
Christopher Wendt: Et cum spiritu tuo.
His Excellency: Et benedictio Dei Omnipotentis: Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti, descendat super vos et maneat semper. Amen.
Praise be our Lord Jesus Christ!
Christopher Wendt: Now and forever!
Christopher Wendt: Thank you, Your Excellency. This concludes our broadcast for tonight. Our next broadcast will be on September 13th. It will be a question-and-answer session, and we look forward to starting to receive new questions that you might have for His Excellency. That’s all for now. Thank you!
